Volume 21 Issue 3
Beltane 2024
Seasons of the Moon is a quarterly online magazine published by students and members of The Order of The White Moon, an eclectic international order of women dedicated to The Goddess. The Order provides personal empowerment and priestess training, and operates local groups. All contributions are original material submitted by our students and members. (We do not accept outside contributions.) Please direct comments and questions to the Ezine Editor.
Beltane 2024
Contents
- Goddess Work
Fertility Invocation to Isis, Moonwater Ashwood
- Ritual Work
Beltane Ritual, Peace Whitehorse
Sunshine Blessing Ritual, Lady Zephyr
- Witchy Writings
Runes, Peace Whitehorse - Sacred Sites
Eilean nam Ban Móra, Ajna DreamsAwake - OWM Awareness
OWM Happenings, Ajna DreamsAwake - The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit
Beautiful Queen, Moonwater Ashwood
Our Eternal Goddess, Mystic Amazon
The Shadow Lover, Mystic Amazon
May Day, Peace Whitehorse
- Recipes Fit for a Goddess
Litha Lavender Loaf , Jacquelyn
- Reviews
Braiding Sweetgrass, Jayme
- Just for Fun
Beltane Oil, Lady Zephyr
- Chime candles: yellow, red, blue, green, white, silver
- Intent candles: white, green and red
- Altar cloth: Green with white
- Wand (use a small plain branch with the bark peeled)
- Bowl of earth
- Small amount of your chosen oil for blessing the wand
- Cloth for wiping wand and hands
- Gemstones: carnelian rose quartz, emerald, bloodstone, lapis, malachite, yellow agate
- Incense ‐ Patchouli for fertility
- Musk oil for anointing candles (for fertility)
- Sage
- One Yellow Candle
- One Goddess Candle
- Water or orange juice
- Letter of intention and something to write with
- One bowl (yellow if you have one)
- Oil: Amber, frankincense, or orange
- Incense: Sage for cleansing, amber or chamomile
- Honey
- Hand Mirror
- Music ‐ any that makes you happy
- 1 cup Milk (your choice)
- 2 TBSP Dried Culinary Grade Lavender
- ⅓ cup + 1 TBSP Butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- ½ tsp Vanilla
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour a loaf pan (one large or two smaller ones).
- Heat the milk and lavender in a pot to just a simmer, and take off heat. You want to infuse that wonderful essence into the milk. Let it cool a bit.
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Add in the eggs, yogurt and vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
- Measure out ¾ cup of the infused lavender milk (saving the rest for the glaze).
- Alternate adding half the flour mix and half the lavender milk to the butter mixture, stir carefully. Then add the rest of the flour and milk until just incorporated.
- Pour into prepared pans.
- Bake for about 50‐60 minutes for large pan or 45 minutes for smaller pans, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 20 minutes, then add glaze.
- 1 cup Icing Sugar
- 3‐4 tsp Lavender Infused Milk (leftover from the loaf)
- Dash of Vanilla
- Combine all ingredients until smooth.
- Poke holes in cake with a fork.
- Drizzle over cake while still warm.
- Let completely cool in pan. Use a butter knife to help release the cake from the pan.
- ½ dram essential sage oil
- ½ dram essential lavender oil
- 6 drops of rose oil
- 6 drops of jasmine oil
Goddess Work
Queen of the Heavens,
The Earth and the Sea,
Isis, Isis, come to me!
Mistress of Magick,
Of healing, of women,
Isis, Isis, hear my plea!
Goddess of the Nile,
Protector of the moonblood,
Isis, Isis, bring your fertility!
Sister‐bride of Osiris,
Beloved Mother of All,
Isis, Isis, I call on thee!
© Moonwater Ashwood September 1, 2008
HP Moonwater passed away in February, 2020. She was a prolific writer and we are honoured to share her work What is remembered lives on
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Ritual Work
Items needed:
Preparation
Dress and anoint candles
Purify the space with sage and light the incense
Ground and center
Cast the circle as you normally do
Call in Spirit
Call in Goddess
Give Thanks by saying:
I give thanks for all that the Goddess Provides,
I give thanks for the presence of the Goddess in my life
State your intent:
The intent of this ritual is to celebrate Beltane and
the union of the God and the Goddess!
Body of Ritual
Dance to raise power for magical activities and then send the power into the bowl of earth on the altar, saying:
Beltane!
I dance with glee
on Beltane's eve.
All senses freeing,
I dance for being.
The flower and the flame
of love's own rite
shall blossom. Sun
embrace Earth, bright.
Light the white intent candle to the Sun. This is the Beltane fire, our modern substitute for the hilltop bonfires of our ancestors. The Bel fire is an invocation to the Sun God to bring blessing and protection for the coming year. This is sacred fire with healing and purifying properties. As you light the candle, be aware of its power and significance and say:
I light this candle to the Sun.
Now take up a dish of earth. Bless it in the name of the Goddess. Lay your hands upon it and say:
I bless, consecrate, and set apart this earth,
in the name of the Triple Goddess.
May this be sacred earth, set apart for magic.
For earth is of the Goddess, being her sacred body.
Light the green intent candle.
Remember that the Goddess is not only of the Moon, but also of the Earth and of
the farthest stars. She is the Triple Goddess of the Circle of Rebirth, the Mother of
All Life.
Now, take the wooden wand and oil it with your chosen oil, saying:
I bless this wand in the name of the Lord of the Day,
The youthful, ardent one,
The Lord of Life,
The God of the greenwood.
Pass it swiftly through the candle flame, the Bel fire, so that it becomes magically
imbued, 'charged', with power.
Place the wand upon the dish of earth, saying as you hold it there:
As wand is to the earth,
so the male is to the female
and the Sun to our blossoming world,
Joined, they bring happiness.
May the God of Life give ________
⦃something you want, for example, peace on Earth⦄
May the Goddess bring it forth!
Meditate for a while, and picture the blossoming of what you have asked for.
Leave the earth and wand upon the altar.
Walk deosil three times around the circle. Go evenly, with grace, meditatively.
Light the red intent candle.
Stand in front of the candle flames, allowing yourself to feel peaceful.
Gaze into the flames.
Visualize a red rosebud in your womb, this is the source of your creative power,
whether you are pregnant with a child, an idea, a work of art or an intention. Close
your eyes and picture the light from the candle streaming into your womb so that
the rosebud blooms, unfolds. Hold the image for a while, feeling the silkiness,
smelling the scent, the freshness, seeing the color of the fully open rose within you.
Feel the strength and power of your own fully blossomed capabilities. When you are
ready, say the following:
I am woman,
Strong to conceive and to create,
to give birth and to tend.
As I am daughter of the Goddess
and blessed by the God, may I ________
⦃name what you wish to bring forth in life⦄
Feel the strength and creative force within your womb, the center of your being.
See the power being channeled, flowing into the desire you have just voiced.
Say the following:
With harm to none, this ritual is done!
Thank and release the Goddess
Thank and release Spirit and the Quarters
Take up the circle
Ground
Allow intent candles to burn out safely
Store magickal earth in an appropriate container
Burn the wand to symbolize the bonfires of Beltane
© Peace Whitehorse, April 2011
Peace Whitehorse is the author of Witchy Writings. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.
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Items Needed:
Prepare Altar:
Light sage incense, purify Altar and pass the bowl through the incense smoke.
Invoke the Elements and Goddess Iris to enter your circle.
Light the white Goddess candle.
Turn on the Music and meditate on what makes you happy and write it down in the letter,
then pass the letter through the smoke.
Place the letter in the bottom of the bowl and pour the honey over it.
Place the bowl in front of the yellow candle.
Light the yellow candle and say the Incantation:
Golden Rays Shine down on me
Casting Happy colors for me to see.
From the tears of my eyes
The Goddess Iris makes
A rainbow across my dreary skies.
I listen to the Goddess' call
Telling me it's time to stand tall
Her Dawn brings a new day
Raining Golden beams
To send me on my way.
So Mote It Be.
Thank the Elements and the Goddess and open the circle.
Drink the water/orange juice.
In the Morning light the incense passing the mirror through the smoke. Go to a window and hold the mirror up to the light outside sun or not… it's still there… then turn the mirror around, look at the mirror and smile… Do sometime nice for yourself that day… buy a little gift for yourself… take a beautiful soothing bath… each day… do something nice for yourself… just one thing to make you happy for that day…
© Lady Zephyr
(HP Lady Zephyr passed away in April, 2015. She remains forever in our hearts)
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Witchy Writings
Runes are sets of symbols which roughly equate to an alphabet. There are three main varieties of runes, Teutonic from Germanic Europe, Anglian from Britain, and Nordic from Scandinavia. Runes were used for written language until replaced by the Latin alphabet we have today, as a result of the spread of Christianity. A 'futhark' is the same thing as an alphabet.
Nowadays, runes are not usually used to write language, although that certainly could be done. They are more widely used as charms and magickal inscriptions.
Although there are several runic systems, the one most people are familiar with is the Elder Futhark, which consists of 24 runic symbols. This is the one I will concentrate on.
The Elder Futhark is the oldest known runic alphabet. It was a writing system used by Germanic tribes. The 24 runes in this futhark are divided into three sets of eight runes each, called an aett.
Most Elder Futhark rune sets today contain a twenty‐fifth rune which is blank. This blank rune was introduced in the 1980's and is not considered by purists to be an actual part of the rune set. Save it in case you lose a rune and you can use the blank to substitute for the lost rune.
Making a rune set is not difficult. Needed is twenty‐four discs (twenty‐five if a blank is desired). Wooden discs can be wood‐burned or painted. Stones can be painted or engraved. I made my set out of polymer clay, with the runes inscribed in the clay before baking.
Each of the runes in the Elder Futhark has a sound associated with it, much like our current‐day alphabet. In addition, though, each rune also has a meaning or interpretation. Using these meanings, runes can be used as a divination tool. Divining with runes is called "casting the runes".
Get a book on runes and become acquainted with them. They are worth at least a passing knowledge. I often use runes when inscribing candles for candle magick, or in any application where I need a shorthand way to represent a thought or intention. Runes have the added benefit of being secret since most folks ‐ especially Cowan, or non‐magickal people ‐ don't know what they mean!
Click on the link to follow Peace at Witchy Writings
© Peace Whitehorse May 17, 2020
Peace Whitehorse is the author of Witchy Writings. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.
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Sacred Sites
The mythical island of Eilean nam Ban Móra, "the Island of Big Women", lies off the coast of Scotland. A sacred well on the island marked the edge of the known world and was believed to be a portal to the Celtic Otherworld. The name suggests that the women may have been giants, but it is just as likely that the name refers to powerful women. Queens ruled the Celtic tribes and led armies made up of both male and female warriors. There is also evidence that this was a matrilineal society, with succession passing from mother to daughter.
Eilean nam Ban Móra is also the name of an actual island, the Isle of Eigg. According to island legend, St Columba decreed that the women of Iona and all the cows should be banished there, stating that "… where there is a cow, there will be a woman and where there is a woman, there will be mischief."
In the early 7th century, St Donnan, an Irish missionary, arrived and built a monastery. Then, in 617 CE, A group of female pirates slew St Donnan and his men and beheaded them all. In another version of the legend, a Pictish Queen hired bandits to kill the men because St Donnan built his monastery on the same land where her sheep grazed.
Whether Eilean nam Ban Móra is a real island or a mythical one, what remains clear is that women were a force to be reckoned with.
https://www.academia.edu/20358082/The_Encyclopedia_of_Celtic_Mythology_and_Folklore
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/articles/story-behind-warrior-women-scotlands-isle-eigg
© Ajna DreamsAwake
Ajna DreamsAwake is a High Priestess and founder of Dark Moon's Heart School. Her personal journey of self‐discovery continues as she supports and guides women along their own healing paths.
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OWM Awareness
OWM is proud to announce that Jayme, of Moonflower Ministry, has completed Level I to become an Initiate and Lifetime Member of the Order. Please enjoy her wonderful Final Project on Ataensic
The Ordination Council is proud to announce that River has completed her Level IV training and has been elevated to the rank of High Priestess and Ordained Minister in the Order!
HP River is an inspiration to all women who seek the Goddess Path.
Please also enjoy HP River's beautiful Level III Final Project on Baba Yaga
As my 5‐year term as President of the Board of Directors winds down, I want to thank my Sister HPs for their loving support over the years. It has been a great honour for me to serve as the Spiritual Head of the Order. We have such an amazing group of Goddess Women here and I am so very very proud of our Members. They consistently demonstrate their strength and determination to do the hard inner work, their commitment to themselves, their studies, and their chosens paths, their dedication to Goddess. Love to you my Sisters! 💙💙💙
This Summer, the Board will be holding elections for a new President as well as other Board positions. We wish all our candidates the best of luck.
We are always delighted to welcome our new students in Sacred Three, Moonlit Path, Moonflower Ministry and Dark Moon's Heart from all over the world! We are always happy when sisters find their way to OWM!
More About OWM
If you're not an OWM student and you'd like to learn more about the Order of the White Moon, the schools offering Traditional White Moon Studies, or browse the Goddess Gallery, we welcome you to learn about us!
For those who are not currently Sisters of the Order but would like to feel supported, we encourage you to visit OWM's website and submit a Prayer Request. This Public Outreach program is one of the ways that OWM gives back to the community. We offer prayers, distance healing, and loving support to members of public.
You can connect with OWM on social media! Follow us on Twitter at @OrderWhiteMoon for regular updates on Seasons of the Moon, the Weekly Tarot Zodiac and other OWM public outreach programs. Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/orderwhitemoon.
Visit and like us! The Twitter feed and Facebook page are available to the public. Feel free to share these links. We appreciate your feedback so please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.
May the Peaceful, Compassionate, and Healing Presence of the Goddess be with you now and always.
Blessed Be
HP Ajna DreamsAwake
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The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit
I saw a beautiful lady
Dangling her feet in the river,
Cleansing the water that
Brushed past her skin.
"Who are you dear lady?"
I finally asked. she smiled
And replied, "Do you not
Recognize me child? I am
The life‐blood of the land.
I saw a beautiful mother
Playing happily with her child,
Spreading love and joy to
All who laid eyes upon them.
"Who are you lovely mother?"
I finally asked. She smiled
And replied, "Do you not
Recognize me child? I am the
Protector of all the world's children."
I saw a beautiful queen
Sitting humbly on the temple steps,
Smiling at all who passed, waiting patiently.
"Your majesty, for whom do you wait?"
I finally asked. She smiled
And replied, "Why, I wait for you
Dear child to return to me. You
Do know me, do you not?"
At that moment I did know who sat before
Me, and replied with a bow,
"Yes, my lady. You are She who
Has a Thousand Names, Mother of All,
Mistress of Magick, Protector and
Queen of the Heavens, Land and Sea."
"Blessed Isis, Bride of Osiris,
Mother of Horus, Daughter of Ra,
How may I serve thee?" Laughter
Like bird's song floated upon the air
And she wrapped her winged arms
Around me, whispering in my ear,
"You already do, my child."
"Every time you bring joy to another,
Every time you offer healing to the ill,
Every time you bring light to a child,
Every time you sow a seed,
Every time you tend a plant,
You serve me in all these ways."
I bowed my head once more in
Thanks, yet when I arose she
Had departed, leaving but a feather
At my feet as a reminder.
© Moonwater Ashwood September 5, 2008
(Jennifer Runham‐Stark)
HP Moonwater passed away in February, 2020. She was a prolific writer and we are honoured to share her work What is remembered lives on
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I am the goddess, who loves you
And nurtures you always;
I am to be found in the beauty
Of the Earth and all its creatures.
Come be with me, who adore you
And surround you with love;
Let your Soul come to me,
So that I may cradle you in my arms.
Let the rain that falls from heavens
Cleanse your heart and body…
Dance in worship and delight,
While my silver moon glows for you.
These bodies that I have made for you
Are beautiful and sacred;
Everything about them is a delight
And brings forth love and sensuality.
If you keep me within your soul
I will be everywhere in your life;
And all paths will lead you back to me,
Your New and Ancient Mother.
© Mystic Amazon December 14, 2008
(Beth Johnson)
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The darkness gently slips in,
As the day wanes away;
Slipping in like an uninvited stranger,
Changing everything that was bright.
Now it is another world, one with
Glittering stars and darkening clouds,
And shadows that move and murmur
In the darkness.
Another night that I wait for you,
Wait until I embrace the darkness;
Feeling the comfort of a dream lover.
He always comes when I whisper,
Breathing magicks into the darkness.
He has your face and body;
Slips in through my window quietly,
And laughs in my embrace.
Soon it will not matter;
I will wait for you no longer.
I will fly with your shadow self
Into a more exciting world,
And I will not come back.
When you come to find me,
You will find only a tousled bed;
And the sound of my laughter
In a darkened room.
© Mystic Amazon (Beth Johnson) November 10, 2005
Late beloved OWM Sister, HP Mystic Amazon, died February 18, 2021. Mystic Amazon's poetry and rituals keep her memory alive in our hearts.
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May Day comes, Holy Beltane!
Leap across the bale flame,
Dance around the Maypole,
In the Goddess' name!
The Earth is a‐greening,
Springtime is here!
Everything is blooming,
It's a wondrous time of year.
The Wheel has turned once again
To this joyful time of growth.
The Sacred Rite performed
By God and Goddess both.
The union of the Deities
Brings new life to the Earth.
Put out the fire Beltane'eve
And kindle anew in the hearth!
For all kinds of fertility
Go through the Beltane smoke.
Leave an offering outside
For all the Fairie Folk.
To talk to those who've gone before,
The veil between the Worlds is thin,
The time is ripe, the time is good
To contact friends and kin.
Don your festive clothing,
Celebrate with food and drink,
Dance and sing, dance and sing,
In red and green and pink!
© Peace Whitehorse March 28, 2011
Peace Whitehorse is the author of Witchy Writings. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.
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Recipes Fit for a Goddess
Lavender is a perfect choice to celebrate the Summer Solstice, with its beautiful purple flowers and delicate flavour. Just make certain your lavender is culinary grade (can order online) or use some from your garden! As you make this yummy dessert, you can stir in your intentions for the summer…
Ingredients
Directions
Lavender Milk Glaze
Directions
Slice and enjoy!
© Jacquelyn
Jacquelyn Smith is a new Level One student with the Moonlit Path.
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Reviews
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Summary
Braiding Sweetgrass is an informational text written by a SUNY‐distinguished environmental biologist and member of the Potawatomi Nation about the role by which indigenous plants and animals serve as instructors, facilitators and keepers of sacred knowledge. The book is broken into 32 chapters, all of which are organized into five sections that designate the process by which Sweetgrass, one of the four sacred Indigenous plants, are planted, tended, gathered & harvested, braided into ropes and then burned as ancestral offerings to the Spirits.
According to Indigenous wisdom, Sweetgrass plants are considered 'the sweet‐smelling hair of Mother Earth,' and are thus cut and never pulled when harvested and braided into three strands that represent the fusion of mind, body and spirit before they are burned. Thus, each section serves as a metaphor for the significant role that plants play in Native life and each chapter focuses on the author's personal, transformative experiences with select plants and animals that transcend what can be reasoned and rationalized by science.
The text begins with an account of the Indigenous creation myth of 'Skywoman' which explains, according to multiple Native American nations that have similar retellings, how our Earth was first created when a sky goddess plummeted to a water world below through a large hole made by an uprooted tree and found only animals, but created a new refuge on the back of a giant turtle. Kimmerer uses the story of Skywoman to illustrate the unique relationship by which Indigenous people have come to cherish Earth and the life within it as not only 'home,' but also as a sacred vessel to respect and honor with the responsibility to care for and protect it with each preceding generation. Each chapter that follows focuses on wisdom imparted by a unique fusion of knowledge gained from her scientific research and Indigenous insight about a select plant or animal experience, including a variety of fruit‐producing plants such as Pecans, Corn, Beans, Squash and Wild Strawberries, flowers like Aster, Goldenrod, Water Lilies and Silverbells, trees and shrubs including Witch Hazel, Maple, and Ash and a unique assortment of experiences such as ritual land burning, symbiotic relationships between organisms and the singular ability of language to document the awareness of what it means to be alive.
Braiding Sweetgrass is a profound and well‐written synthesis of documented plant research and Native American wisdom told through Indigenous storytelling traditions and provides poignant, bittersweet accounts of how plants should be honored, revered and celebrated as integral parts of our natural world and how humans should take a more connected role in understanding the way by which we are joined to the greater world around us.
Sources
https://wanderingbull.com/sweetgrass/
https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass
© Jayme
Jayme is a Level II student in Moonflower Ministry. She identifies as a HedgeWitch and is primarily fascinated by Divination, Green Witchery and Energy Work of various kinds.
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Just for Fun
Ingredients
Directions
Blend all together and pour in an airtight bottle and store in dark cool place.
This can be used for rituals, candle anointing, anointing self on wrists for
protection, love and happiness.
© Lady Zephyr
(HP Lady Zephyr passed away in April, 2015. She remains forever in our hearts)
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The articles featured in Seasons of the Moon are written and/or submitted by members of the Order of the White Moon and are their own intellectual property. Please feel free to share this publication but do give credit where credit is due and link back to the source.
Thank you for reading, we hope that you have enjoyed it just as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you.
Many blessings to you and yours,
Seasons of The Moon Staff
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